The development of CO₂ capture and storage technologies worldwide

The International Energy Agency and UN climate scientists argue that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is essential for achieving climate goals. Therefore, the first cross-border storage facility for CO₂ has been launched in the Danish North Sea; CO₂ is captured in Belgium and transported by ship to a depleted oil field 200 km from the mainland. By 2030, the Greensand project will inject up to 8 t CO₂ annually.

Denmark is also pursuing the “Bifrost” project, the injection of CO₂ into depleted Harald gas fields in the Danish part of the North Sea. A CO₂ export terminal is being built in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, from where gas will go to storage sites in the North Sea. In the UK, work is underway on the “HyNet North West” programme in Liverpool Bay and Bulgaria on the “ANRAV” initiative in the empty Galata gas field in the Black Sea. Conversely, France has “PYCASSO”, a project to store CO₂ in a depleted gas field in Aquitaine. Iceland, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden also implement their carbon storage projects.

According to a report by the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign, the state of Illinois is well-positioned to become a leader in CO₂ capture, utilisation and storage in the US. The plans include the nearly 2,100km-long Heartland Greenway underground pipeline. It transports liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertiliser plants in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois to underground storage facilities in central Illinois.